It is of course well known to dispense paper toweling and other types of paper sheet material from rolls of such material. Commonly, the dispensers employed for such purpose, particularly with respect to paper toweling, utilize spaced supports for supporting the rolls at the ends thereof and allowing rotation of the roll when toweling is being dispensed from the dispenser. It is also well known to employ an electric motor in a paper towel dispenser to position a leading end portion of the toweling external of the dispenser for access by a consumer. This action results in rotation of the roll as it is unwound.
As will be seen below, the dispenser apparatus of the present invention incorporates a capacitance sensing system which is utilized to control operation of an electric motor employed to unwind sheet material in the form of paper toweling from a roll. Sensed capacitance characteristics of roll support structure must be of a selected predetermined nature to operate the dispenser.
The following patent documents having a degree of pertinence to the present invention are known: U.S. Pat. No. 7,044,421, issued May 16, 2006, U.S. Pat. No. 7,040,566, issued May 9, 2006, U.S. Pat. No. 6,695,246, issued Feb. 24, 2004, U.S. Pat. No. 6,412,655, issued Jul. 2, 2002, U.S. Pat. No. 4,796,825, issued Jan. 10, 1989, U.S. Patent App. Pub. No. US 2006/0173576, published Aug. 3, 2006, U.S. Patent App. Pub. No. US 2005/0171634, published Aug. 4, 2005, and PCT Pub No. WO 2009/055473, published Apr. 30, 2009.
Several arrangements showing use of bar codes, smart tags, and metal coatings employed with paper towel cores are disclosed in the located prior art which are sensed at the roll support for detecting information about the product, for example to provide lock-out capability. There is no teaching or suggestion in the known prior art of the capacitance dispenser apparatus as disclosed and claimed herein.